your writing do's and don't's the week of october 4, 2026

This week is for integrating.

Venus is officially retrograde (have you checked out your recommended reading and listening yet?!). The moon is waning, at its darkest; it will be New on Saturday.

This week is not for generating new ideas quickly, but for parsing through the ones we have, separating the wheat from the chaff.

As my dear friend and Call Your Coven co-host Bee Scolnick talked about in our October forecast, October is a month where we re-meet our bright-eyed and bushy-tailed January 2026 selves and get to check in about the cycles we’ve lived so far and how we want to move in the coming days and weeks.

For me, this looks very literal: I just got my Astrology for Artists book edits back from my editor, and have the month to rewrite and revise. To me, Venus Rx is dreamy for book revisions. I can’t think of a better time than Spooky Season to dig into a project that is so much about confronting the shadows of our creative practice, about sinking into deeper relationship with the unknown and the planets themselves, those most wise and ancient of teachers.

No matter where this week meets you, the slowdown post-autumnal equinox is ideal for perfecting rather than generating. For contemplation over quick production.

What this integration energy looks like for you will depend on the circumstances of your life and your writing, but know that I am sending you all blessings and good things for your writing in the week ahead. As always, I hope these do’s and don’t’s — the practical application of technical astrology — are supportive of your creative process.

(Also also also, if you’re like “but Jeanna, I want to be STARTING something,” I’ve got a brand new generative writing workshop coming soon, called THE BOOK YOU WERE BORN TO WRITE. It will feature both practical creative writing generative prompts and spirit-led guided meditations and rituals for channeling your next big project. I’m so fucking excited.)